Reilly Opelka continues his attack on doubles tennis, takes sarcastic jab at empty stands for format

Reilly Opelka was at his sarcastic best while attacking tennis doubles once more. The American tennis player has long criticized the doubles format, citing it as commercially non-viable and failing to attract spectators.

In a recent development, the US Open made several changes to its mixed doubles format, including reduction of the playing field and preponing mixed doubles fixtures, to make it shorter and more attractive for spectators.

This decision drew criticism from several players, including Reilly Opelka, who stood fast in his criticism, taking a dig via an Instagram comment last week.

On Friday, February 21, the big-serving American was at it again, criticizing the doubles category as he shared pictures of the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, where a scanty crowd was present in stands.

Reilly Opelka shares pictures of empty stands during doubles match, (Source: Instagram)

Opelka shared another story, where a young boy seemed to be watching doubles tennis on television. Taking a sarcastic jibe at the category, Opelka captioned the story:

"#watchmoredoubles"

Reilly Opelka takes a jibe at doubles, (Source: Instagram)

After making a comeback from injury last year, Opelka has made gradual strides in his form and rankings, reaching the semifinal in Newport last year and making it to the final in Brisbane this year.

---

Reilly Opelka once commented on the current tennis schedule: "I would only allow the guys in the singles to enter the doubles draw"

In Picture: Reilly Opelka (Getty)

During an appearance on the Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast in March 2023, Opelka candidly suggested trimming down the doubles matches from draws at the lower-level ATP events. The American believed it was an effective way of freeing up the currently congested schedule, and claimed there should not be separate draws and separate groups of players for doubles.

"At the 250 and 500 level I would say Friday, Saturday, Sunday – doubles. So, you cut the draw in half right then and there. And I would only allow the guys that are in singles to enter the doubles draw,” he said.

Opelka was also of the opinion that doubles was a much simpler game for singles players. He pointed out the exploits of John Isner and Jack Sock and the Grand Slam runs of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis along with the duo of Jason Kubler and Rinki Hijikata.

"If Isner and Sock and Kyrgios- Kokkinakis wanted to just dedicate their time to doubles -- look what Isner did last year. He almost won all the matches with different partners. Walk in the park for him I’d say....Hijikata and Jason Kubler paired up for the first time. I don’t think they were ranked top-100 in doubles and they go out and they walk through a Grand Slam. When was the last time that’s happened in singles? When was the last time a guy not in the top-50, let alone top-100 just showed up and walked through a Grand Slam?” Opelka added.

Opelka will be back in action on the ATP Tour at the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, followed by the event in Miami.